The Things Network, a key networking and community support group in the LoRaWAN space, has inter-linked 10,000 LoRaWAN gateways across the globe, it has claimed.

The Amsterdam-based group started in 2015 with an agenda to foster LoRaWAN deployments globally. It said, at the turn of the year, that 10,000 LoRaWAN gateways in 147 countries are now connected via gateway operators using its open-standard LoRaWAN connectivity management and security tools.

Wienke Giezeman, chief executive and co-founder of TTN, commented: “What a milestone. Who would have thought when we pitched the idea for the first time to a bunch of IoT enthusiasts in Amsterdam. Crazy to see how this evolved to such a massive global movement of businesses, makers, citizens and governments – [all] embracing open IoT standards.”

The Things Network has recently spun-off a new business, called The Things Industries, to assist private enterprises across industrial sectors to build their own LoRaWAN networks, using open standards, and as a means to tap into cross-country connectivity and a broad ecosystem of developers and hardware partners.

It promises an “integrated chain of products and services.” Giezeman positions the offer to industrial companies as one to control costs, expedite deployments, and manage security for IoT sensor networks. “Scalability, sustainability and security through open standards, no vendor lock-in and the highest levels of security,” he says.

The Things Industries puts focus on smart city applications, utility management, and industrial setups, and claims to offer consultancy and guidance for bespoke use cases alongside. The company states: “Our technology further allows easy deployment of private networks for situations demanding enterprise level reliability and security.”

James Blackman

James Blackman has been writing about the technology and telecoms sectors for over a decade. He has edited and contributed to a number of European news outlets and trade titles. He has also worked at telecoms company Huawei, leading media activity for its devices business in Western Europe. He is based in London.